New York archdiocese denies allegation that it sought to smear Michael Voris

The Archdiocese of New York has said it is “absolutely, 100 per cent untrue” that it was preparing to smear the Catholic journalist Michael Voris.

Voris, the editor of ChurchMilitant.com, alleged that the archdiocese had been collecting information about his personal life before he became a Catholic.

In a post on the Church Militant website, Michael Voris wrote: “We have on very good authority from various sources that the New York archdiocese is collecting and preparing to quietly filter out details of my past life with the aim of publicly discrediting me, this apostolate and the work here.”

Voris said that in his 30s he had “lived a life of live-in relationships with homosexual men”, and that in his 20s he “had frequent sexual liaisons with both adult men and adult women”.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York told the Catholic Herald: “It is absolutely, 100 per cent untrue that the archdiocese was collecting and preparing to release anything concerning him personally or his website.”

Voris said he “had great pain to overcome from childhood and my youth and instead of recommending myself to God in my youth, I gave in to the flesh and died spiritually. I shudder every time I think what would now be my lot had I died [at that time].”

He apologised to those who were hurt by the revelations, saying: “I want to take a moment to apologise to anyone who is wounded in any way by this. I did not intend to deceive. I just didn’t see the need to provide up-close detail of past sins in order to inform people of the Faith.

“I thought it sufficient to simply state the true and overriding fact that I had led a horrible life, and through my mother’s efforts, been given sufficient grace to come home as a prodigal son.”

Voris wrote of his discovery of “God’s saving power”: “I was restored to life. It is real, every last bit of it. And when you know it, you know it – and you want everyone else to know it. And you want to make sure nothing stops them from knowing it like you know it.”

He thanked fans for their prayers and forgiveness, and said that if the revelations threatened Saint Michael’s Media, of which ChurchMilitant.com is a part, “then please pray that the will of God be done”.